I received the manuscript for this book several weeks ago through the Diet of Bookworms. My only compensation is that I am to receive a free copy of the book when it is made available. This is no compensation at all, however, since (a) the book is available free for online reading at Crossway’s site, and (b) it is not a book I would buy, recommend, give away, or use as a doorstop.

Recommendation: Save your money and read it online. Better yet, save your time and don’t read it at all.

I had intended to do an in-depth review of God Is the Gospel, pointing out the serious reservations I have about it while also attempting to salvage what good there is within its pages. The surprise release and availability of the book online, however, makes my review superfluous and so I will primarily share many of the notes I made in the margins of the manuscript during my two readings of the book. I trust you will get an idea of my areas of concern.

Let me begin by highlighting some of the disturbing statements in Piper’s writing. (All emphases are mine.)

What makes the gospel good news in the end is the enjoyment of the glory of God in Christ. The Holy Spirit provides the present experience of that enjoyment. Therefore the promise of the Spirit in the gospel is what makes it good news.” - p. 31

“The effect of this peace with God is eternal life. This too is what makes the gospel of Christ good news.” - p. 33

“That any of us has believed is owing to the mighty work of God’s grace - the grace made possible by the blood of Christ. And this blood-bought grace is essential to what makes the good news good.” - p. 36

“Now the point of this book must be pressed. The point is that the precious gospel events and gospel blessings that I have outlined in this chapter do not suffice to make the gospel good news.” - p. 37

This annoying doublespeak would be minor if it were not for the next step Piper takes in his reasoning. Through some creative hermeneutical gymnastics, he makes seeing the glory of God in Christ at the moment of effectual calling necessary for salvation.

If we believe all these things have happened to us, but do not embrace them for the sake of getting to God, they have not happened to us.” - p. 47

“If we do not see him and savor him as our greatest fortune, we have not obeyed or believed the gospel.” - p. 56

Piper’s addition of this requirement to the gospel seems to be almost completely based on his understanding of 2 Cor 4.3-6:

3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,
4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
5 For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake.
6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

Piper comments,

This is one of the most remarkable descriptions of the gospel in the whole Bible. There is nothing else quite like it. It defines the gospel as ‘the gospel of the glory of Christ.’ And it says that this gospel of Christ’s glory emits, as it were, a ‘light’ - ‘the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.’” - p. 59

Herein lies Piper’s problem and misunderstanding: Paul is giving a description, not a definition, of the gospel. But Piper focuses on definition and thus concludes that the gospel is not the gospel if the glory of God in Christ is not seen; if the glory is not seen, there is no salvation.

What must be seen is not mere news and not mere knowledge. What must be seen is light . . . But the point here is this: the glory of God in Christ, revealed through the gospel, is a real, objective light that must be spiritually seen in order for there to be salvation, If it is not seen - spiritually tasted as glorious and precious - Satan still has his way, and there is no salvation.” - p. 64

Because Piper sees this as a definition, he comes to wrong conclusions about what constitutes the gospel of our salvation. For him, it is all about seeing the glory of God in Christ. He does not explain why Paul would “preach Christ crucified” (1 Cor 1.23) rather than “Christ glorified.” Nor does he address any of the multitude of passages that discuss the gospel being about the sacrifice of Christ and faith in Him. He does not seem to understand that “the glory of God in Christ’ is a reference to the crucifixion: God was glorified in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

In what seems to be a case of eisogesis, Piper reads his meaning into some of John Calvin’s writing and concludes that the Reformer is in agreement with him. Calvin’s quote is followed by Piper’s assessment; emphases are Piper’s:

Therefore illumined by the [the Spirit’s] power, we believe neither by our own [note this!] nor by anyone else’s judgment that Scripture is from God; but above human judgment we affirm with utter certainty (just as if we were gazing upon the majesty of God himself) that it has flowed to us from the very mouth of God by the ministry of men.” - Institutes, I, vii., 5, p. 80

This is almost baffling. He says that his conviction concerning the majesty of God in Scripture - that is, the glory of God in the gospel - rests not in any human judgment, not even his own.” - p. 80

My own copy of The Institutes is a different translation, but the substance is the same. Calvin’s quote is in a section having to do with the authority of Scripture, not the glory of God in the gospel, and has to do with the Holy Spirit illuminating and convincing people of the inspired and divine nature of the writings. Calvin does not refer to the gospel or the glory of God here, although Piper certainly causes it to appear as though that is what Calvin is saying.

Well, enough of that. As promised, here are some additional excerpts from Piper along with notes from my two readings of GITG:

    “From the first sin in the Garden of Eden to the final judgment of the great white throne, human beings will continue to embrace the love of God as the gift of everything but himself.” - p. 11
    > This is a straw man. Piper is stating that all Christians are guilty of this shallowness. I knew I was in trouble when I couldn’t make it past the first sentence of the book.
    “The world needs nothing more than to see the worth of Christ in the work and words of his God-besotted people.” - p. 17
    > “Besotted”?!? As in, “God-stupified” or “God-foolish”? Whenever an author uses archaic language to sound profound, I’m leery.
    “Until the gospel events of Good Friday and Easter and the gospel promises of justification and eternal life lead you to behold and embrace God himself as your highest joy, you have not embraced the gospel of God.” - p. 38
    > Not embraced or not fully embraced? Piper is adding another condition for salvation.

    “The center of the gospel is the narration of the events of Christ’s death and resurrection. It is news! [ > Not good news? - MR] Then there is the explanation of what this death and resurrection have achieved in the forgiveness of sins and the hope of eternal life. And in all of this there is the aim and prayer that the glory of Christ would shine through, because this glory is what must be seen in order for faith to have a solid and saving ground.” - p. 89
    > Again, Piper claims that there is no salvation apart from seeing the glory of Christ. Unfortunately, he never defines glory other than as an “objective” light.

    “There is no gospel where the glory of God in Christ is not shown. And there is no salvation through the gospel where the glory of God in Christ is not seen.” - p. 97
    > But what does this mean? if it means seeing the glory of God in and through the sacrifice and atonement, OK. But if it means seeing past the Cross to God’s transcendent glory, using the death, burial, and resurrection as merely stepping stones to another end, then NO.

    “Therefore the gospel is ‘the gospel of the glory of the happy God.’” - p. 101
    > Piper is now channeling Marilyn Hickey

    [Referring to Php 2.6-11:] “When this gospel story is rightly proclaimed, that glory is displayed. If this glory is not shown and seen, the greatest good of the gospel is not seen, and there is no salvation.” - p. 171
    > Is he giving indicative statements the force of imperatives? Paul is not commanding us to look for the glory but is stating a fact or result.

Well, I’ll stop. I’m bored and - if you’re still reading - I’m sure you are, too. I’ll close with this:

Had Piper made one of his minor points the major thrust of the book, the conclusion would have been timely, valuable, and biblical. That point was that believers need to learn to love God for who He is in and of Himself, totally apart from any gifts He might bestow, anything He might do, or even the salvation which is in Jesus Christ alone. God is worthy of adoration and our worship simply because of who He is. This would have been an immensely worthwhile book.

But, alas, John did not touch base with me first, and so we’re stuck with this. Too bad, eh?

Addendum: This is the only review of a Piper book I have ever done, although I have read a couple of his other books. I thought the others were good books and accomplished what they intended to achieve. I have not heard Piper speak, but am confident that he is as appealing and effective as some claim. I like and respect him. This review may not reflect that, but any author is susceptible to writing a less-than-good book from time to time. This is one of Piper’s, I think. I mean him no malice personally, but I do believe he is toying with the gospel.


2 Cor 1.13